Improvement in electric annunciators for elevators



. z Sheets-Sheet 1. E. GRAY.

ELECTRIC ANNUCIATOR FOR ELEVATORS. No. 172,993. Patented Febi1,1a7s.

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WlTNESSES lNVENTOR- 2 Sheets-Sheet E. GRAY..

ELECTRIC ANNUCIATOR FOR mnvuons. I No.17Z,993. Patented Feb.1, 1876.

ILFETERS, FHOTWUTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

ELISHA GRAY, OF CHICAGQILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTERN ELECTRICMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC ANNUNCIATORS FOR ELEVATORS.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 172,993, dated February1, 1876 application filed February 3, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIsHA GRAY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented anew, useful, and Improved ElectricAnnunciator or indicator for freight and passenger elevators in hotelsand other buildings, of which invention the following is a full, clear,and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art towhich my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference beingbad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and in which-Figure 1 represents a perspective view of an elevator, provided with anannunciator embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a horizontal section throughone of the elevator-posts in the plane of the line a: 00; Fig. 8, avertical section of the indicator; Figs. 4., 5, and 6,front, side, andtop views, respectively, of an electrical signaling-apparatus andelevator, showing a modification of my invention, as repre sented in thefigures preceding.

The object of my invention is to render an electric annunciator orindicator useful in connection with freight and passenger elevators inhotels and other buildings, so that the person having charge of theelevator may be called to each of the several floors of the building atany time by means of the annunciator, whatever maybe the position of theelevator, and whether it is at rest or in motion; and my inventionconsists in providing the elevator with an electric annunciator orindicator, andin rendering the latter capable of accomplishing theobjects above set forth.

In the drawing, A represents the car or platform of an elevator of theclass referred to. B represents an ordinary annunciator, such as isemployed in hotels for the purpose of indicating calls from the variousrooms. The annunciator is arranged on the car or platform of theelevator, so that its announcements may be readily ascertained by theperson having charge of the elevator. C C are posts or ways, along whichthe elevator rides. D is the battery. E is a flexible cable of insulatedwires. The wires constituting the flexible cable are one more in numberthan the number of floors to be indicated by the annunciator, the extrawire being a batterywire. The cable is suspended from the highest floorreached by the elevator, and arranged near the elevator-well. The otherend of the cable is attached to the elevator car or platform, and thecable is long enough to allow the elevator to descend to its lowestposition in the building. Each of the cable-Wires, except thebattery-wire, is attached to. one end of a corresponding magnet in theindicator, as represented in Fig. 3. Theother ends of the magnets areattached to the batterywire, as represented at E. F F are ordinaryroom-keys or circuit-closers, and each floor is provided with one ofthese keys, as shown in Fig. 1. G is the battery-wire. The course of thebattery-wire is such that the keys F F, when depressed, will be broughtinto contact with it, and it may terminate after reaching all the keys.The oppositeend of the battery- Wire is carried to the upper end of thecable, continuous along the latter, and terminates in the annunciator,as shown in Fig. 3. Each cable-wire, except the battery-wire, isattached to a corresponding key, F, as shown in Fig. 1.

The circuit is as follows: Passing along near the keys F F to thebattery, and through the latter along any suitable course to the upperpart of the cable; from thence through the cable to oneend of themagnets, and through the latter and a corresponding cable-wire to acorresponding key, F. This circuit is closed whenever one of the keys FF' is depressed, and the person in charge of the elevator is therebycalled to the floor on which the depressed key is arranged, and thiscall may be made at any time, whatever the position of the elevator maybe, for reason that the circuit is not broken by the movement of theelevator, owing to the flexibility of the cable, through which thecircuit-wires pass.

In the modification of my-invention, illustrated by Figs. 4, 5, and 6 ofthe drawings, electrical communication between the battery andannunciator within the elevator-car is maintained by means of a slidingconnection instead of the folding one described above.

A series of wires, or, are suspended from the top and at one side of theelevator-well, Which are retained in position and. kept taut by bottomof the well.

weights 1) attached to their lower ends at the Each one of these wiresis connected at its lower end to one pole of the battery B, as shown inFigs. 4 and 6. Another wire, a, is arranged in the same series, but atits lower end is connected to the other pole of the battery B. Upon thetop of the car A are placed springs c, which are rigidly attached to thecar in any suitable manner, and carry upon their upper and free endssmall metallic pulleys or rollers 01, arranged so that each one of theserollers will be in contact with one of the wires a a. Each one of thesemetallic springs is also connected by wires D to a magnet in theannunoiator. Signal-keys F are arranged upon each floor, as hereteforedescribed, and from each key two wires are run, one connecting with thelower end of one of the wires on, and the other conmeeting with thelower end of the wire a.

It will be seen from this description that so long as the pulleys d arein contact with the wires a a, whenever one of the floor-keys F isdepressed an electrical circuit is immediately formed, and a signal isproducedat the annunciator within the ear. The springs 0 are slightlycompressed, so as to operate to keep the rollers cl continually pressedagainst the wires a a as the car A moves up and down the well, andtherefore at whatever point the car may be upon depressing thesignal-key on any floor an electrical circuit will be closed, and asignal given at the annunciator.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of a movable elevator-car, an annunciator attachedthereto and moving therewith, circuit closing or breaking signal keys ondifferent floors, respectively, of a building and mechanism, whereby anelectric circuit is maintained between the signal-keys and theannunciator, without interruption by the movement of the car.

ELISHA GRAY.

Witnesses FR. HANSEN, D. A. SHEPARD.

